November 4, 2004: Teamster members have been pushing for trustees to protect pension benefits, and to win higher employer contributions to make up for the stock market downfall following September 11. Finally, a group of pension trustees has heeded the call. The trustees of the New Jersey Joint Council 73 Pension Fund responded to their funding shortfall by forcing contributing employers to double their contributions to avert a benefit cut. But the JC 73 Pension...

November 4, 2004: As African Americans learn what TDU is about, they are joining in numbers. At the TDU Convention Black Caucus we discussed increasing our own communication network and outreach. Our challenge in the coming year is to strengthen our outreach to African Americans and help develop more African American leadership in our union at every level—from shop stewards to local officers to international officers. It’s our job as TDU—along with the Teamsters National...

November 4, 2004: The AFL-CIO has a website which identifies companies in your community that are shipping jobs overseas. You can check it out here. Another new website of interest: Shop Union-Made was recently launched as an online source for products and services by union workers, including cars, clothing, computers, greeting cards, musical instruments and telecommunications services.

November 4, 2004: Local 386 has signed a first contract for workers at Winco Foods, a growing wholesale distributor in Ceres, Cal. The contract undercuts Teamster grocery standards by keeping members out of Teamster pension and health and welfare plans. The contract was negotiated by Local 386 Secretary-Treasurer John Souza, who just happens to be a trustee of the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust! Instead of Teamster benefits, Winco workers will be in a...

November 4, 2004: Milwaukee Local 200 has won a strong new contract for the 650 Teamsters employed as warehouse workers and drivers at the Roundys grocery warehouse in Wauwautosa, Wis. The union beat back management demands that members pay for health care, and won model production standards language. It is a big victory for the Roundys members and for the reform leadership of Local 200 that took office less than one year ago. Under the...

November 4, 2004: The IBT’s biggest organizing win of the year came in August when 3,000 customer service workers at America West voted Teamster in a big win in the airline industry. Congratulations to the organizing team and the America West workers!

November 4, 2004: Sue Mauren is in the Club. Minnesota Local 320 filed their Form 990 tax return late, so we were unable to include Sister Mauren in our $100,000 Club report. Mauren, the secretary treasurer of Minnesota Local 320, received $112,273 in salaries and $126,714 total in 2003. She gets salaries from Local 320, Joint Council 32, and the International Union. Mauren’s brother-in-law, Jeff Farmer, is the International’s Organizing Director. Additional Scam in the...

November 4, 2004: Teamsters and local officers at UPS often want to know if the issue they have grieved has been decided before—and if so, what the decision was. Just as common is the answer “We don’t know.” Sometimes we are told we should give up on a grievance because the same issue has already been lost in another case. Now the international union has provided local unions with a compact disk containing arbitration and...

November 4, 2004: UPS after-tax profits rose 20.8% to $2.47 billion in the first three quarters of 2004. Revenue during the same period compared to 2003 grew by over $2 billion. Both international and U.S. package volume were up over last year. UPS’ busiest quarter is still ahead, meaning that 2004 will be another record year for the company.

January 28, 2005: There has been a great deal of discussion lately about pension relief from many sources. The IBT releases regular statements regarding the need for relief, and in the July/August issue of Teamster Magazine the IBT called for Teamsters to “join [John] Kerry in his fight for legislation that provides meaningful relief for multi-employer pension plans.” Our committee couldn’t agree more that our pension funds need help but isn’t reform more important than...